My wedding favourites from 2011…
Well, its hard to believe another year is nearly gone. Time flies when you are having fun, as they say. I have had a fantastic year. Apart from a number of photographic highlights, having my second daughter, Heidi, in July stands out.
This year has also brought a few changes to my business. From the start of October I stopped doing studio portraits.
I have already started plans for new ideas in 2012 which I am very excited about.
In the meantime, here’s a glimpse of some of my favourite wedding images from 2011. If time permits I hope to have some of my favourite portrait and food pictures in another blog post before the end of the year.
Uluru…
…The Avoidance of Sameness
As well as being another name for “Ayres Rock”, Uluru is an award winning Australian restaurant situated close to the cathedral area in Armagh City. On Saturday night, Caroline and I paid another visit to this little gem. We have been a number of times, both for lunch and for the much talked about tasting event in April!
We had originally booked for Saturday 22nd to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary, but had to reschedule until Saturday 29th.
On arrival, we were greeted and shown to our seats where we were politely asked if we would like a drink. Caroline opted for a soda water and lime and after a quick browse of the drinks menu I couldn’t help being drawn to a “Belfast Blonde” from College Green Brewery, Belfast. Delicious.
Dean and his team had left a little card on the table. Nice little touch. Thanks.
We then had to make some decisions from the short but varied menu and the specials menu.
Shortly after, we were given a board of delicious freshly baked warm breads accompanied by butter, tapenade and a red pepper salsa. The bread was wonderfully soft and went perfectly with the afore mentioned delights.
Meanwhile, our chosen wine arrived at the table, Heartland Sticleback 2008. We first tasted this fantastic wine at Uluru’s tasting evening and it was delicious. It hasn’t changed one bit. Perfect choice.
Dean (Head Chef & Proprietor) arrived at the table with a delicious treat of Soft Boiled Quails Egg coated in Japanese Breadcrumbs, on Duck Toast and Jerusalem Artichoke Veloute. It was fantastic. Thanks Dean.
We waited a short while until our respective starters arrived. Caroline opted for the Half Baked Lobster with a Seafood Bisque and I couldn’t resist the Crispy Pork Belly with Asian Veg and a Sweet & Sour Sauce. Caroline absolutely loved her lobster. The flavours were fantastic and the lobster was incredibly fresh. Need I mention whether I enjoyed mine or not?
As we chatted and allowed the starters to fall in to place we were happy to soak up the buzz that obviously made Uluru the place to be on a Saturday night. It was buzzing, with no tables to spare at 8pm. The way any good restaurant should be in my opinion.
Then arrived the main course. Caroline went for the Rack of Lamb on a Creamy Mash and Piccalilli Vegetables. I chose the Oven Roasted Breast of Pheasant with Mash and Crispy Bacon, Honey Glazed Sprouts and Pearl Onions. Having ate game for most of my growing up at home I just couldn’t resist the pheasant and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Caroline thoroughly enjoyed the tender and succulent pieces of lamb. The creamy mash was beautifully complimented by the zing of the piccalilli vegetables.
“Would you like to see the dessert menu?”. That’s like asking a cat if it would like a saucer of milk! The Orange and Clove Crème Brûlée was the obvious choice for both of us! We both have a bit of a weak spot Crème Brûlée. As every proper (in my humble opinion) Crème Brûlée should be, the caramelised sugar top didn’t require a pneumatic drill and the crème was perfectly smooth and sweet without being sickening. YUM, YUM and YUM again.
All this yummy sweet stuff was easily washed down with a glass of Woodstock Botrytis. Fantastic.
A meal wouldn’t be complete with a coffee. We could both enjoy a fresh brew of the locally roasted coffee from Ristretto. Perfect end to a perfect meal.
So, I think you can gather from this that Caroline and I both thoroughly enjoyed our evening at Uluru. Thanks to Dean and the rest of his staff for helping us to have such a great evening. We will be back soon.
All pictures taken with my iPhone!
Decisions, decisions, decisions …
I used to be indecisive, now I just can’t make my mind up.
From a business perspective, the last few months have seen me making some small decisions as well as some bigger decisions that I believe will ultimate benefit the level of service that I provide to each of my customers.
If you follow my blog regularly you will see that there was a new addition to our family in July, in the form of another little girl, Heidi.
It can be difficult sometimes finding a balance between business and family life. As a result of struggling to find this balance, and striving to constantly up my game in a business which I love, I have had to make a pretty significant change. From this Saturday (8th October) I will no longer be offering studio (white background) portrait photography. I will still be taking bookings for on location photo shoots. That side of my business will not be affected at all. For me, lifestyle shoots compliment my style of wedding photography. I feel they provide a lovely alternative to studio portraits.
This has not been an easy decision, but ultimately my family have to come first. I hope you understand.
I can guarantee that as a result of this decision, not only will I have more time to spend with my family, but I will be able to invest more time and effort in your wedding or lifestyle shoot.
With regards to wedding photography, this will remain completely unaffected. I am already very excited about each of my weddings and lifestyle shoots for 2012 (and I haven’t even finished with 2011 yet).
So, keep and eye on the blog for more weddings and portraits.